


Just A Little Boy

by fairydustedtheory



Series: A Wolf and a Spark verse - Sterek Bingo 2020 [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Child Derek Hale, Child Stiles Stilinski, Childhood Friends, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23945854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairydustedtheory/pseuds/fairydustedtheory
Summary: Stiles met an older boy during the school trip to the beach when he was four.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: A Wolf and a Spark verse - Sterek Bingo 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709788
Comments: 12
Kudos: 289





	Just A Little Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my Sterek Bingo 2020 oneshots. This is for the prompt Childhood Friends.
> 
> They are all in the same verse. The collection can be read as a whole but fics stand on their own.
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://fairydustedtheory.tumblr.com/tagged/plot%20twist%20:%20i%20write)
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

"Did you pack your snack for the road ?" Stiles asked Scott.

"My mom did, you know." Scott answered, fidgeting with the seat belt.

Stiles knew, Scott's mom was great with snacks. She even put something special in there for Stiles most days too. She knew life wasn't that great at home. Mom and Dad tried to hide it but even a four year old could tell these things. Stiles didn't know exactly what was going on but he knew something was up with the grown-ups.

They had been as nervous as they were relieved to read the message from the teacher saying they were going away for a couple of days. Stiles' class was going on a trip to the beach. It was a whole thing, several buses and several grades were all going. All the teachers and also some parents were there to accompany them. Mom and Dad didn't volunteer, nor did Scott's mom, she had to work Scott had said.

They were really free then, for the first time ever. No parents.

Mrs Frey, their teacher, came to check on them. "You alright boys ? Are the seat belts buckled up correctly ?" She checked both seat belts and nodded. "Sit tight, we're on for a great adventure !"

Stiles loved Mrs Frey. She was one of these teachers, the ones who care about their students. It made him a little less anxious to leave to know she would be there to take care of them.

"Two nights, right ? It's two nights ?" Stiles asked Scott.

"Yeah." Scott mumbled, burying his hand in his pocket. "Ahah !" He exclaimed pulling out a small bag of jelly beans. "You wanna share ?"

Stiles smiled and opened his tiny hand to his best friend. Scott really earned that title, Scott was awesome like that.

The engine burst to life in a big grumble of noise and Stiles hurried to put the handful of jelly beans in his mouth all at once before Mrs Frey passed by them as she walked back to the front row seat.

It was going to be a wild ride.

*-*-*-*

The bus stopped near a complex of houses. The scent in the air was so different from Beacon Hills, it stung Stiles' lungs. The other buses came to a stop next to them. The older kids were part of the trip too. They had never really interacted before even if the two schools were next to each other.

"Look at them," Scott sighed, scrunching up his nose. "I bet they're going to be allowed in the ocean and we'll be stuck doing sand castles."

"I don't mind sand castles." Stiles said, his eyes roaming over the class of taller kids jumping off the last step of their bus.

His eyes stopped on a boy, arms crossed over his chest. He looked more than unhappy to be there. What could be so wrong about a trip to the beach, Stiles made a mental note to remember to ask him when their classes would be reunited a little later.

Scott pulled him by the arm as Mrs Frey was guiding them to the marina. She made a point of naming every parts of the boats anchored there. Stiles was more focused on the insane number of jellyfish in the water. A real invasion.

Stiles strayed away from the group after a moment. There was a strange buzzing, a whisper in his ears. The jellyfish were calling for him.

He stopped and dropped his arm to touch the water.

Suddenly, a strong hand pulled him back.

"Don't touch that !" The older boy from earlier all but snarled in his ear. His voice covered the buzz and snapped Stiles back to land.

"Wha ?" Stiles mumbled, staring at the frowning boy in front of him.

"Don't touch that." The older boy said again, a little softer this time, before getting back up and jogging back to his group.

Stiles ran to Scott and Mrs Frey. He looked back to the older boy who was still staring at him. Stiles waved his little hand, with an awkward tight smile. The older boy just frowned back.

*-*-*-*

Scott had been right about the older kids being able to go in the ocean. That wasn't fair, really. The preschool kids all had floaties on so what would have been so wrong about going into the water ? Yet, the teachers had been adamant, the little ones were only allowed to go in to their knees and no deeper.

Stiles turned his head a moment and his eyes landed on that older kid again, sitting on the dry sand, playing with a sea-shell and putting it to his ear.

"What are you doing ?" Stiles asked coming to sit next to him.

"I'm listening."

Stiles grinned. "Listening ? Is the sea-shell talking ?"

"No. What are you doing here ?" The older boy glanced over at him, squinting his eyes.

"What ?"

"Why aren't you with your friends ?"

"Why are you alone ?" Stiles shrugged, looking eagerly at the older boy.

"My sister wasn't allowed to come."

Stiles scratched the back of his neck and shook some grains of sand off of him. "Oh ? Why not ?"

"It's the full moon." The boy said before shaking his head, blinking, like that wasn't something he was supposed to say.

"Aaah." Stiles agreed as if all of this made all the sense in the world when really it didn't. "I'm Stiles. That's my name. And you ?"

"Derek."

"Why did you save me from the jellyfish ?"

Derek shrugged. "You're not supposed to touch jellyfish."

Stiles offered his hand to Derek and smiled when the older boy took it and got up with him. Stiles guided him to the ocean, to the rhythmic rock of the tide moving up the beach. Derek rubbed his nose like the pervasive scent of salt was bothering him somehow. Still, he let himself be guided by Stiles, feet in the water.

Mrs Frey called out. "Stiles, don't go too far."

"I've got him." Derek answered and Stiles beamed.

They splashed around a little. Derek borrowed one of the balls the teachers had brought with them. Stiles was absolutely awful at catching or throwing the ball, but hey he was only a four year old. Derek had to come rescue him every so often because Stiles couldn't do things half way and kept throwing his whole body in the water to try to catch the ball.

Derek shook his head, fighting the tiny smile threatening the corner of his lips, his dark hair wet and pulled back.

"Your ears look so weird !" Stiles laughed.

Derek frowned. "You look weird !"

"My dad says I'm pretty." Stiles said throwing himself back into the water knowing Derek would be pulling him back up a second later.

Derek did.

*-*-*-*

"You abandoned me, you traitor." Scott grumbled as they were headed to the cafeteria of the tourist complex.

"I -" Stiles stopped. He didn't want to make Scott feel bad. "I'll sleep next to you tonight, deal ?"

"Deal." Scott accepted, they could never stay angry at each other, it was always that easy. Stiles winked.

Stiles didn't see Derek at dinner, and he wasn't there at the little puppet show they went to see before going to bed. It was too bad, the show was the highlight of the night in Stiles opinion.

He asked Mrs Frey just before going to the dormitory if she knew where Derek was. She said she didn't really know as he wasn't even in their school, just that Stiles shouldn't worry about it.

Stiles worried. He tossed and turned. All night.

*-*-*-*

Stiles didn't see Derek at breakfast. He tried to think about something else and listened to Scott talking about the dream he had last night.

"It was a giant jellyfish pinata and we had to break it ! You tried and then I tried and then we did it both at the same time and then a billion tiny little jellyfish jelly beans fell off ! How cool !!"

"Jellybeans shaped as jellyfish wow !" Stiles agreed.

"I know !"

*-*-*-*

Stiles was doing his art craft with all the care in the world. He painted his little wood frame yellow and blue and was busy putting all the glue every where so he could then stick the sand Mrs Frey had taken at the beach for this very purpose.

Scott was making a mess next to him, but Stiles was not bothered, his little tongue peeking out in concentration. He startled when he saw a hand come right in front of his frame.

"Here," Derek said dropping a few tiny sea shells in front of him. "I picked these up for you."

"Awesome !" Stiles grinned. "Oh no, look ! I'm glued !" Stiles raised his hand to Derek showing him a glue stick stuck to the palm of his hand. Derek sighed dramatically as he pulled the glue stick off easily. Stiles could see him smiling as he continued to walk away with his class.

*-*-*-*

It was the last night of the trip already. These things went by fast when you took the time to nap and eat and do all the things preschoolers needed to do.

There was a campfire outside in the yard. The grown-ups had planned a dance. "It's like a preschool prom !" Mrs Frey had said.

The ocean air was twirling in the darkening sky.

Scott wasn't really into the dance scene. He had hurt his butt falling off the slide when they went to the playground a little earlier in the afternoon. They had decided to stay near the dorm and just look from afar.

Stiles saw Derek walk from the camp fire, his hands were balled into fists by his side. "Aren't you coming ?"

"Noooo ?" Stiles admitted in a whisper. It came out as a question.

Derek looked a little distressed. "C'mon. You don't wanna dance ?"

Stiles thought about it for a moment, then nodded. He looked over at Scott who shrugged, too busy drinking a juice box they had taken from the party.

Stiles remembered then he was already wearing his bright colored batman slippers and looked down frowning at himself. Derek just grabbed Stiles’ hand and tugged him along as he set out to go back to the dance.

Stiles ended up putting his feet on top of Derek's and just letting himself be swayed to the rhythm.

He wrapped his arms around Derek's neck just for balance. He felt something buzzing, the fire whispering in his ears, calling him. Derek pulled him close and breathed deeply.

Stiles smiled, Derek's nose tingling the soft blond hair just behind his ear.

"I'm gonna stay attached to your neck like this forever." Stiles murmured. Derek just hummed.

He fell asleep that night dreaming of sparks flying up in the night sky to the beat of a melody he didn't know.

*-*-*-*

They were getting ready to leave. Stiles had his nice painted frame on top of his bag, this was going to be a gift for his mom. He hoped he would make her smile.

Scott kept talking about how he missed his mom's cooking and his bed and how he was so glad they would be leaving.

They were just waiting for the buses to arrive and bring them home. Stiles caught a glimpse of Derek with the older kids. As soon as Mrs Frey looked away for a minute too long, he took the opportunity to run over there and grab Derek by the arm.

"Hey !" Stiles smiled.

Derek's eyes were wide and softened as soon as he recognized him. Stiles pulled him behind a tree, something in him really didn't want to leave.

Derek smiled softly and he kissed him on the nose. Stiles chuckled as he released it, his nose was all wet and tingly.

"What are you ?" Derek asked low for no one else to hear.

Stiles giggled. "I'm just a boy."

Derek shook his head, staring into Stiles' eyes. "Your eyes, they glow gold sometimes. I've seen it, twice. But you're not a wolf." He frowned before adding in whisper. "You smell good though."

Stiles fingers found Derek's and squeezed. Derek let him.

"You're so soft." Stiles confided as he would a secret.

They could hear Mrs Frey and the other teachers starting to call out the names of their respective students.

Derek gave him a tight smile and reluctantly let go of Stiles' hand when it was their turn to go.

*-*-*-*

Stiles hoped to catch Derek after school during the following week, but he couldn't say no to Scott when his best friend asked if he wanted to go to the pool with his mom and him.

Stiles still hoped to see Derek for the few remaining weeks of school but they could barely manage a small wave at each other when they got picked up by their respective parents at the end of the day.

Then school was out and his mom and dad sat him down at the kitchen table one summer afternoon and told him what was really going on. And really, after that Stiles' heart didn't have any hope to spare.

That's how he made it seem like he didn't remember that one day he saw a sixteen year old Derek walk into the sheriff station after the fire.

That's how he made it seem like he didn't remember when he met Derek again that day in the woods with Scott.

But deep down his heart had always remembered.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed the story, consider leaving a kudo/comment.  
> Find me on [tumblr](https://fairydustedtheory.tumblr.com/tagged/plot%20twist%20:%20i%20write)


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